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Beginning
Balanced atop the highest spire of the Salt Lake City Temple, gleaming in the Utah sun, a statue of the angel Moroni stands watch over Salt Lake City with his golden trumpet raised.
Hosted by Freda’s Voice
Page 56
More specifically, he devoted much time and energy to attempting to divine the location of buried treasure by means of black magic and crystal gazing, activities he learned from his father.
The Book:
Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith by Jon Krakauer
Pages: 399
Published by Random House
Publication Date July 10, 2003
Goodreads
Jon Krakauer’s literary reputation rests on insightful chronicles of lives conducted at the outer limits. He now shifts his focus from extremes of physical adventure to extremes of religious belief within our own borders, taking readers inside isolated American communities where some 40,000 Mormon Fundamentalists still practice polygamy. Defying both civil authorities and the Mormon establishment in Salt Lake City, the renegade leaders of these Taliban-like theocracies are zealots who answer only to God.
At the core of Krakauer’s book are brothers Ron and Dan Lafferty, who insist they received a commandment from God to kill a blameless woman and her baby girl. Beginning with a meticulously researched account of this appalling double murder, Krakauer constructs a multi-layered, bone-chilling narrative of messianic delusion, polygamy, savage violence, and unyielding faith. Along the way he uncovers a shadowy offshoot of America’s fastest growing religion, and raises provocative questions about the nature of religious belief.
My Thoughts
I’ve been rereading Under the Banner of Heaven because of the new Hulu series. It is just as interesting as the first and second time I read it. It is hard to capture a full overview of the novel with just a few sentences but the above does a pretty good job encapsulating the idea.
The writing style is gorgeous, even those two lines are very evocative.
Cora | https://www.teapartyprincess.co.uk/
Jon Krakauer is a wonderful writer I pretty much devour anything he writes.
Sounds fascinating!! Happy weekend!
Thanks, Freda, I hope you’ve been having a wonderful weekend too.
Not too many books that I’ve read more than once, let alone three times. This must be a special one for you.
Under the Banner of Heaven is such an interesting novel. There is also a true crime aspect which is a genre I love.
Wow, this does sound interesting. I live very close to Utah, and have always wondered about their beliefs and lifestyle.
Under the Banner of Heaven is very informative. I’ve always thought the book is an eye-opener no matter what your opinions on the Morman religion.